Hojoki: not your house and more than living in a storage shed

When I owned a house, I had a storage shed in our backyard which was built to resemble a small barn, complete with a barn door. The previous owner had even installed a phone jack with a line separate from the house. Whenever I went in there, I found myself thinking, wow, if this place only had electricity, a south facing window or two and maybe a little insulation, I would have the perfect office. In the summers, I'd go into our little greenhouse warmed by the midnight sun and think, this is it. What more do I need?

Now keep in mind that both of these structures were maybe 10 x 10 feet, which is no bigger than a walk-in closet. What's the attraction? Size, mostly. A building that size is so easy to keep straightened up, mostly because you can't have much in the way of possessions.

Have you noticed the trend for houseplans with either two story entry ways--you know, the "grand staircase"--or two story living rooms? I can see why people want higher ceilings in some rooms, especially where they entertain, but for me, a 10 foot high ceiling is enough.

The tall ceilings work at church as well, but in homes, they always seem odd, especially when you think about construction costs and dead space and costs associated with heating and cooling these giant pools of air. This winter I am living in a house with "cathedral ceilings" and paying way too much money for heat. .

It wasn't until I came across the work of Susan Susanka, architect and author of The Not So Big House, that I realized that these houses were simply too big and they left their inhabitants feeling uncomfortable. Sometimes what I thought we needed was less living space and simply more storage space, like the full basement or the attic in my grandparents house.

As it turns out, I'm not the first person to want this level of simplicity in my life. In 12th century Japan, the Buddhist monk, Kamo no Chomei, lived in a 10 foot square hut. He wrote about it in a piece of literature known to us as Hojoki or an Account of my Hut. which is available to us as a short book.

We've moved a long way from 12th century Japan. Thomas Jefferson lived in a very small house much of the time that he was building Monticello. Thoreau lived in a small cabin on Walden pond, so there is a definite attraction for Americans to move into smaller spaces.

In the twenty first century, we have truly expanded our use of the small building. In Lapland, there are a series of small huts maintained by the Lapin läänin autiotupatoimikunta I, which has its own traveler's code, regarding the use and preservation of these huts.

Instead of going for the traditional windowless garden shed or building your own, there are now companies that specialize in the design and manufacture and transport of small sheds. One of these is MetroShed, which is headquartered in Florida and has also branched out into cabins and houseboats and pool cabanas. I suspect that the greatest use for small modular huts would be for people like me, who want to expand into offices just outside of the house. We had a home office for years, one of the bedrooms of our three bedroom house. The largest bedroom, no less, but even so, work seemed to spill out of the office and into the living room, and took up space in the garage, until it seemed like we could never get away from it. So I would definitely opt for having a MetroShed in my yard as an office. Instead of spending time in a windowless cubicle, think of working in an office where all four walls look out into world around you.

But Florida is a long way away from here. And if I had a yard, and could afford an office, I'd probably check out Modern Shed, which is located right here in Seattle and run by Ryan Grey Smith. Their pictures of the little sheds are so cute, I'd like to move in right away.  I would also look at Modern Cabana (http://www.moderncabana.com/)

One individual who has taken the small house concept to heart is Elizabeth Turnbull, a student in the school of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University, who built an 8 x 18 foot house for a budget of about $11,000. She was able to find a site for her small house--a definite alternative to living in dorm housing.

I have family in northern climates who are fond of the pastime called "ice fishing." No, they aren't fishing for ice. What the fellows do is cut holes in the ice and try to fish. This pastime involves elaborate rituals, including the drinking of beer and the construction of small buildings called ice huts or ice shanties. Sound familiar? Hojoki or Thoreau's cabin for the modern world--just one other way to get away from it all, even in the dead of winter.

Think this sounds interesting? There are plenty of people out there to help you figure out how to design your own very small house. Peter King of Vermont is willing to teach you how to build your own tiny house in a workshop designed to get you from top to bottom in two eight hour days. If you're really passionate about the idea, there's always Jay Shafer, who also helps you with an A-Z production for you to build your own ultra small house. Tumbleweeds Tiny House Company's Shafer will help you with plans, a workshop and offers support. The workshops are held all over the US and there are even international workshops in the United Kingdom.